


What's in a Name?

by Cleothare



Category: Naruto
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Internal Monologue, KakaGai - Freeform, Kisses, M/M, Rated T for Teen bc I am a prude probably, cursing, gaikaka, i didn't know I could write something so cute??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 14:31:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15317538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cleothare/pseuds/Cleothare
Summary: Kakashi accidentally flirts with Gai while out as Sukea. It's great, it's amazing, and it's a little terrifying because Kakashi did NOT know that he was head over heels for Gai?? But now Gai is falling for Sukea (and not Kakashi), and Kakashi doesn't know what to do. What constitutes as lying, really, if he doesn't let it get far enough along that it becomes awkward?Fluff.





	What's in a Name?

There were times in Kakashi's life when he wondered what on EARTH he was doing to himself.

It had started innocently enough, like any other casual escape into being someone else for a day than Copycat Kakashi. He had dressed up in his tired, old Sukea disguise and hit the streets. He did so often enough that it had become a habit of sorts. Dress up like a civilian, go out and do civilian things, like eat dango without a mask (gasp!), window-shop at the market, or even go to the park and watch the civilians play with their dogs. The last was his favorite, of course. Sometimes, when he was feeling particularly daring (ha!) he would bring Akino along to play.

Akino was the only one of his ninken that actually  _enjoyed_  the farce of pretending to be a normal dog (the rest tried to tease Kakashi about it or only reluctantly came along). Akino was also one of the less-noticeable ninken, once you removed his jacket and glasses. Despite being able to speak, Kakashi suspected that Akino enjoyed being able to whoop, holler, and bark like a normal dog from time to time (despite the horror the rest of the pack would have had at learning this; apparently it was a big no-no to play at being a non-ninken once you learned to speak human). So Akino kept Kakashi company, Kakashi threw him a ball, a stick, or what-have-you, and they kept each other's secrets from their contemporaries each.

Kakashi and Akino were in the park on one of these "let's be someone else/let's just be ourselves" days when Kakashi made perhaps the biggest mistake of his post-jonin life and casually entered into a conversation with Gai. At first Kakashi thought that Gai  _must_  know who he was. It's not like Gai hadn't, by virtue of the sheer volume of time they spent together growing up and growing strong, seen Kakashi without his mask. But then again, maybe it was not something that Gai might remember? He was chivalrous to a fault, so Kakashi could easily imagine a scenario wherein Gai forcibly ejected the memory of Kakashi's face for Kakashi's privacy's sake. That was just the kind of man Gai was.

So about halfway through the conversation that was about the weather, the dogs, the best way to throw a ball, and about  ~~Kakashi's~~  Sukea's camera, Kakashi realized that Gai might not know who he was. And wasn't that something?! Kakashi made the disguise to fool the rest of Konoha who didn't know him, but maybe he was just a little too thorough and it was closer to mission-level disguise than grocery-shopping-in-daylight disguise. Kakashi was about to let slip something to clue Gai in (it's not like he wanted to lie to his closest friend!), when it happened.

Gai came onto him. Something about how handsome he was, and Kakashi thought he had meant Akino (undercover as Tafu, in case anydog recognized him or anyhuman recognized him as Kakashi's ninken), and had made an affirmative kind of grunt and said something along the lines of "don't flatter him, all he really wants to do is eat," to which Gai had said "Well, if flattery won't work, then please allow me to take you to dinner!" And it very slowly, then all at once dawned on Kakashi that Gai had meant  _him._

Distantly, Kakashi was stunned. But years of training as an undercover ninja were hard to turn off, and when Kakashi was personally stunned undercover, he went into autopilot and the cover-character took over. That was how Kakashi found himself  _somehow?_  and  _without his approval??_ flirting with Gai right back. 

He was mortified; how  _dare_  he treat Gai like a mark? Especially when Gai was so clearly unaware of who exactly he was dealing with!? He should  _not_ be flirting back with Gai. He should  _not_  be going out to dinner with him while lying about who he is. Foremost, he should  _most definitely **not**_  be thinking about how easy it would be to kiss the dribble of sauce off of Gai's lower lip and imagining the taste of both the sauce and GAI'S LIPS and Oh Gods, this had gotten out of control, Kakashi needed to rein it in.

From the back of his continuously shocked, appalled, and kinda digging it mind, Kakashi watched as  ~~Sukea~~  HE (it was him. He was Sukea. They were the  _same person!_ ) reached his hand out and snagged a piece of food from Gai's plate. WhAT on EArTH? Akino gave him a look. Kakashi saw it out of the corner of his eye and sent a very small desperate glance his direction. Kakashi  _didn't know either_  Akino; send help!

Akino had the capability to mold chakra and speak. He was fast and intelligent, and he  _surely_  would have an escape plan for Kakashi. This was just like another undercover mission gone wrong, was it not? Surely Kakashi's ninken would have a plan for extraction.

Akino was a  _professional_  ninken. So naturally, he simply rolled his doggy eyes and pawed at Gai's leg for scraps because if Kakashi was getting some of Gai's food, then he had damn well better be getting some of his own. Of course, Gai being Gai, he teared up at the gesture and promptly fed  ~~Akino~~  Tafu half his plate of sizzled beef. 

And that was it. Kakashi vaguely recognized that he was a lost cause. It was one thing to accidentally flirt with Gai when 'undercover.' That was something that was excusable if Kakashi ever collected himself enough to fess up to the deception. Weird, certainly - but, well, Gai and Kakashi were no strangers to being weird. No; The moment Gai fed Kakashi's dog, something  _clicked_  in Kakashi's mind and he realized he might have accidentally fallen for Gai.

Part of him was reacting as if it were relieved.  _'About time,'_  part of his mind seemed to say.  _'It's only taken **how many**  years? That's a lot of pent-up affection.'_ But there was a louder part of his mind, and it was deeply alarmed. There was no coming back from this. How was he ever supposed to tell Gai that "Oh, hey, that cute photographer you went on a date with? Who realized somewhere between refills of his drink that he was holding your hand across the table and was  _most_   _definitely_   _ **not**  _playing footsie underneath the table? That was me. Kakashi. Your Rival. Hi." 

That latter part of his mind was also raising one eyebrow very high and wondering when skin-tight green jumpsuits were added to the list of "things apparently Kakashi finds very attractive," but Kakashi was at a loss himself. It might have been since Gai insisted they stop a a dango stand after dinner, and then insisted he pay for them. But then again, it could have been since forever? So little of what Kakashi thought he knew about his rivalry with Gai was clear-cut anymore and if he had had enough mental fortitude, he might have found it funny that it was literally his dog playing pretend that had started the domino effect.

That evening had ended with Gai and Sukea parting ways in the market. Kakashi (absurdly?) didn't want to let Gai know it was him all along, just in case it break either of their hearts (Oh dear, he was beginning to sound like Gai, and wasn't  _that_  a sign he was emotionally compromised), so he insisted they split up and walk home separately. It hardly made sense to the quieter part of his mind that was relishing the night more calmly; the "you might have a crush on Gai" cat was out of the bag, and it's not like Gai wasn't sending Sukea the same "yes, I think I am enjoying your company" signals -- so  _theoretically_  it should not make a difference if Kakashi were to fess up to the disguise.

But that was the thing, wasn't it? Gai was enjoying  _Sukea's_  company, not Kakashi's. Kakashi did not remember Gai ever expressing interest in something more than Rivalry (whatever  _that_ means) with him as Kakashi, so he had a pretty sizeable fear that if he were to confess, the scaryfunexcitingflirty evening with Gai might just... disappear. And Oh Gosh, Kakashi did  _not_  want to see Gai's Betrayed Look. There were looks that could peel paint and those to make children scramble to behave, and then there was Gai's Look Of Utter Betrayal. This Look had once shut down an  _entire smuggling ring_  by the sheer weight of "you should be better than this/I am disappointed in you/I thought I  _knew_  you" in his eyes. To put it short: Kakashi was a coward, but he was fine with this if it meant not disappointing Gai.

As they were winding down the night, there was a moment when it looked like Gai might lean in for a kiss, and Kakashi panicked. Something told him that  _no, nope, abort mission;_ this was  _not_  what he should be doing right now. He casually turned before Gai began to _begin_ to move, filling the pause in the air by muttering something like "oh, come along now Tafu," and abruptly turning and walking the opposite direction. Smooth.

As Sukea walked away, Kakashi marveled from inside himself that his fingertips felt a little numb and tingly and was he having a heart attack or was he just really nervous that he kinda almost maybe kissed Gai? Then Gai called out from behind him (sounding partially crestfallen, partially enthused by the Youthful Spirit of Chastity, and partially hopeful that they would try this again (and HOW did Kakashi know all of that by just hearing it?)) "I'd love to see you again sometime. I often go for evening runs in the park like today. I'll be sure to bring along something for Tafu, if he's interested in seeing me again?"

And damn it all if Kakashi did not have a weak spot for his dogs and literally anyone taking an interest in them in any way. Damn it all.

"Oh, yes," he called over his shoulder as he  ~~retreated~~  headed home, "I think you've made quite the impression on him. I do believe he's already making plans to see you again tomorrow." Kakashi was not 100% sure that either he or Gai were talking about Akino anymore, to be quite honest.

Kakashi imagined he could see the glow emanating from Gai's grin as he practically bellowed, "Fantastic! It was truly a pleasure Sukea, Tafu! I shall see you tomorrow!"

That man was going to be the death of him.

 

* * *

 

The next night Sukea and Gai had noodles for dinner. It was another lovely evening that left Kakashi a little fuzzy-headed and butterflied in the stomach, fleeing the scene before Gai could make a move or Kakashi accidentally jumped him. Again.

Several days after that they ran into each other in the morning (while Sukea was "walking" "Tafu." And,  _no:_  Kakashi was not so much  _trying_  to find reasons to dress as Sukea and Tafu and then run into Gai as he was _feeling particularly hungry_ for something that probably required an herb you can probably only find near the training grounds on the edge of the village where  _Kakashi_  (but not  _Sukea_ ) knew that Gai did his morning exercises. Plausible deniability, or coincidence, or something. And if Akino thought it was more than circumstance, he had enough sense to not say a word.). This time it was early enough that rather than go for dinner they went to grab a cup of coffee instead.

They sat outside with Akino and simply chatted. Kakashi noticed that without food to occupy them, Gai was actually a great conversationalist. Kakashi didn't do much talking as himself. Rather, he didn't give the majority of his thoughts voice under normal circumstance. As Sukea, however, Kakashi felt no such inhibition. Talking and laughing was as easy as breathing while wearing Sukea. 

 ~~Kakashi~~  Sukea and Gai had hardly been sitting for long when they looked back at the clock to realize they had accidentally passed several hours talking about... Well, honestly, Kakashi was hard pressed to remember much more than a very engaging conversation and having had a great time. It was surprisingly comfortable and easy talking with Gai like this, and it also had served to calm some of Kakashi's nerves that he was being too erratic and excitable about Gai (what a world he lives in that  _that_  sentence exists, Kakashi managed to think wryly).

The other times they had met up had felt charged; full of anticipation and excitement and had left Kakashi worrying in no small part that this new outlet and flirty fun would inevitably have to end or wrap itself up. Those two dinners, as fun as they were, were leading towards something more than casual hand touching and footsie. For Kakashi, he knew the minute Sukea and Gai actually kissed would mark the end of the escapade. There was no way Kakashi would do that to his Rival; it was one thing to play courting with each other, but something else entirely to take it to something more. Plus, Kakashi was no fool, and while his disguise might be phenomenal enough to fool Gai with regularity from arm's length, it would not stand up to close contact. 

So it was a relief, in a bittersweet kind of way, that Gai and Sukea had coffee instead of something else; It reaffirmed in Kakashi's mind that perhaps he could continue to foster a _friendship_ with Gai as Sukea and they could both be happy with that. While Kakashi might have decided that something more would be fun (and very welcome, after he got over the initial shock of the apparent _mass_ of attraction he had been repressing for Gai for who-knows-how-long), he was not about to risk his friendship or rivalry with Gai because he had  _pesky_   _hormones_  telling him that Gai would probably be great for him in more ways than one. Kakashi was not-quite-content, not-quite-resigned to accept that they could have such a low-key, casual conversation as Friends. It took some of the pressure off Kakashi, who assumed if _Gai_ was treating this so easily and they weren't actively hitting on each other, then maybe even if Kakashi slipped up and made a pass, Gai would be there chaperoning, letting things fall flat. The knowledge that Gai was looking for something other than a Relationship let Kakashi relax a little bit. Gai, as always, was his safety net.

But once again, when Kakashi relaxed just a little too much into the situation, that was when Gai struck.

They were wrapping up and Kakashi was fiddling in Sukea's cavernous pockets for some ryo to cover their check. Gai had circled the table and bent over on Kakashi's immediate right to ruffle Tafu's fur, and as Kakashi placed the ryo on the table, Gai straightened.

"You know, I have really been having a wonderful time with you," Gai said. 

"Ah, the feeling is mutual! I feel as though I haven't had such a good time in a while." Sukea grinned, taking the opportunity to bend over and rub Tafu's belly himself. Another reason Kakashi suspected Akino liked these undercover days; as a ninken he was mostly limited to the amount of petting and scritches that Kakashi could get in around the rest of the pack. Akino in particular wasn't summoned solo very often, and even when he was it was usually for shinobi duties and not recreation. Even when Kakashi tried to summon his pack once a week for 'recreation' (aka: baths, vet visits, etc), he often did not have the time to dedicate more than a few hours to the group. Even three hours of unadulterated relaxation time metered down to ~20 minutes per dog. Frankly, Kakashi could understand why Akino might prefer to play along with these farces if it meant that he got extra pets. To be honest, what was Kakashi doing as Sukea if not wriggling his way into extra attention?

"Mm, I agree. Sitting with you is certainly something that I never expected to have the pleasure of doing! I don't often get to indulge myself so much."

In Kakashi's defense, it all happened very quickly, and he was with  _Gai_ , so he was hardly feeling threatened in any way, shape, or form, and he didn't  _think_  he needed to be on guard. So when he stood up and turned towards Gai, intending to say something similar about 'how fortunate it was that indulging themselves was also indulging each other' and  _no_  he had not quite thought the sentence out and  _yes_  it was probably saccharine and made no sense, and Gai would say it was Full of Youthful Passion, but what was Kakashi supposed to do, because Gai was standing pretty close to him and Kakashi was banking on the fact that he  _thought_  Gai was being their chaperone?

Kakashi straightened and quarter-turned towards Gai, intending to walk between Akino and Gai and start their walk away from the cafe, but as he shifted his weight from his right foot to his left Gai's hand snaked out, grabbed his left wrist, and tugged. All of Kakashi's momentum was shifted and he found himself turned around, spun on his right foot, incredibly close and staunchly inside Gai's personal space. Or maybe Gai was in Kakashi's? There was a lot going on in Kakashi's head and he was still partially trying to figure out how he had so quickly been redirected from one direction to another and from one train of thought to another and then there were  _hands_  on his body and that took priority. Gai had let go of his wrist and brought his hand up to Kakashi's shoulder, resting lightly there, while his left hand had navigated its way thru the folds of Sukea's slouchy overcoat to settle on his hip, one thumb casually rubbing a tiny pattern on his undershirt.

Kakashi took about half a second to wonder when it had gotten so hard to breath and how exactly his  _literal_   _physical_   _conditioning_  had been circumvented and he had been surprised and taken advantage of and yeah, maybe this was the _good kind_ of being taken advantage of, but was it also still a form of **being taken advantage of** and ninja should  _not_  be taken advantage of?? And then Gai's lips were on his.

It was not a perfect kiss. Kakashi had certainly had better kisses in his life; more skillful, with fewer accidental teeth-clacks, and just the right amount of tongue. That being said, this set of less-than-perfect kisses was also the first one since his _literal_ first kiss years ago that short-circuited his brain. It was suddenly very warm and Kakashi knew that his cheeks were embarrassingly flushed. He was overwhelmed by sensations: Lips on his; breathing air that had already been breathed once and it was warm and humid and partly made him feel like he'd stuck only his face into a sauna; pressure on his hip that was firmly  _there_  and intimate even though it was bafflingly just a  _hand_ ; the slide of Gai's right hand as it traced its way up his shoulder to his neck and then hooked around the nape of his neck to pull him in closer and  _squeezed_. Kakashi froze for what felt like almost too long before the noise in his head gave up on trying to direct him towards doing anything specific and just decided to let him have at it. He melted into the touch, the kiss, the pressure, wanting more. His hands traced up Gai's waist (Good GODS, he was fit) and he leaned into his mouth. He wanted to know what it felt like to have Gai's hands skim up his stomach, to brush over his cheek when it was this flushed, and to hold his hands while they kissed. He desperately wanted to know what it would feel like to have that gentle breath that was making him lightheaded settle on his neck or, Oh Gods, his ear. He felt like he was floating away in these images, and wanted for  _something_  to ground him, to tug him back down and keep him there. Something like Gais' hands running up and threading through his hair and grabbing ahold of some and giving it maybe more than just a little pull.

And  _that_  was all the reminder he needed. Kakashi was not Kakashi right now, he was Sukea, and Sukea wore a wig that Gai would _definitely_ notice if he decided he wanted a handful of hair to grip (and yes, Kakashi was kinda wishing he would, damn the consequences, because the thought of his hair being firmly tugged by Gai was more than a little hot) and pulled away the wig instead. Kakashi was dressed up as someone else, lying to his best friend, and maybe sort of hiding a crush from him. Now, though, he had led him on and Gai had initiated a kiss with a man he definitely didn't know was his Rival in disguise. Kakashi suddenly felt the weight of his lies like heartburn settle in his chest.

He pulled away, ignoring his own reluctance and the small sound of protestation that Gai made. Kakashi couldn't look at him, so he focused firmly on the ground. The heat on his cheeks was from shame this time around and he struggled to find words or even a concept at how to begin to tell Gai that he was Sukea.

"What's the matter?" Gai asked. His voice was heartbreakingly tender and Kakashi really didn't want to have to tell him anything and ruin the moment.

"I have to tell you something," Kakashi managed. He took a deep breath and absurdly felt like crying; why was this so difficult? "I'm not who you think I am. I've been lying to you -- "

"My Rival, what on Earth are you talking about?" Gai interrupted. "How have you been lying to me? Did you not enjoy the dango as much as you said? We don't need to go out for dango after every time we eat! We can do something else or nothing at all if you prefer? We could  --"

Kakashi had short-circuited again. This must be a new record. Had Gai called him 'Rival?' Was that a slip of the tongue? Did Gai call other people rival than Kakashi? Kakashi was a little insulted at the concept.

"No - no, I'm - I like the dango. I'm just - I'm not Sukea -"

There was a pause and then:

"Oh that."

"' _Oh that'_?" Kakashi parroted back. What was this day? What was his life?

"Kakashi," Gai started (and Kakashi's mind whirled. Gai had just called him Kakashi while dressed like Sukea? Did that mean he had known all along? Or had he figured it out at some point? Or... what??) "My Rival, do you mean to tell me that you thought I didn't know it was you all along?"

'Yes,' Kakashi wanted to say. 'Yes I did, I mean  _no_  I didn't realize you knew? And maybe yeah I thought it was a little weird that you were fooled by my disguise because I didn't think I had tried  _that_  hard when making it up? But you didn't act like you knew me? And you fed a ninken sizzled beef and you offered?? to pay?? for things???'

What he _actually_  managed was "I --- what??" and he looked up from Gai's feet to stare in wonder at Gai's face.

"Kakashi, I knew it was you from the moment I saw you. I knew it was you months ago when I passed you in the market." Gai was beaming, as if he was part of some great secret and Kakashi was distantly impressed that Gai was so astute. Kakashi had bumped into a lot of people as Sukea and no one had ever shown any indication that they might recognize him or even think to question who Sukea reminded them of. "I'd recognize you anywhere, Rival," Gai finished.

Kakashi was at a actual loss for words. He opened his mouth a couple of times like a fish, but then his brain told him that he would be better served waiting quietly for words to come than trying to grab them out of thin air, and he closed his mouth. Gai was looking at him like he  _knew_  him and was currently reading his mind with quiet amusement. ( _'Good luck with that!'_  Kakashi thought petulantly, _'_ I _hardly can make sense of the noise in here right now, and I live here.'_  ) A silent moment dragged on before Gai spoke again, trying for casual this time:

"Plus," he shrugged, "even if I managed to somehow mistake you for a stranger, how could I possibly mistake Akino for anyone other than the handsome brute who has saved our missions more than once?" Akino huffed.

"Not so loud with my name, Gai! I have a ninken reputation to uphold and those Inuzuka hounds have ears everywhere. If they put two and two together I'll never live it down." Despite his chastisement, Kakashi could tell Akino was torn between being flattered by the praise and offended that his disguise was not as foolproof as he thought it was against the humans. Well,  _some_  humans.

"Why, then?" Kakashi heard himself ask. He had disentangled himself from Gai by this point; that had happened somewhere in between their confessions to give themselves some space to think clearly. Or was that Kakashi's doing? Honestly, Kakashi was giving himself a pass for this day because it was five types of crazy already and it was hardly even 10:30 yet; he could afford to be a little iffy on some of the details.

"Why did I play along? Well, to be honest --" and Kakashi then witnessed Gai do something he had never seen him do before: he grew sheepish and... possibly embarrassed?? and began to fidget as he continued, "I had intended to let you know that I knew it was you and that I had seen you and Aki-" (Akino growled low, polite warning growl and Gai interrupted himself) "Tafu before. But once we started talking I promptly changed my mind... Rival, when you are wearing the guise of Sukea you embrace the Springtime of Youth in a way that I have not seen you do since we were children! It warms my spirit and it warmed my spirit when I noticed it the first time! I often feel that you censor yourself and work to remain so Cool and Hip; but as Sukea I recognized all the truest parts of your personality in the body of someone who did not feel pressured to maintain the same distance as Kakashi!"

"Gai -" 

"I thought that if you felt more comfortable with a mask on -- Well, it would not be the first time I kept an eye on you when you disappeared behind a mask!"

"'Kept an eye on me'?" Kakashi was a little affronted by that thought.  _Kakashi_  was the one who was supposed to be keeping an eye on Gai and keeping  _him_  safe. Had Gai always thought he had needed protecting? Watching over? Absurd.

Gai steadfastly ignored him. He was on a roll and Kakashi had known Gai for a long time, so he knew there was no stopping Gai until he was finished.

"I've called you Hound and Captain and Rival, so what difference was a new name? But  _this_   _time_  you seemed to almost remove your layers and I recognized My Rival emerge for the first time in a long time! And to be quite honest, Rival, I was drawn to Sukea in a way I did not immediately recognize, but by the time I began to see I was Attracted To You, I had already unintentionally invited you to eat with me!" 

' _Well wasn't that the cutest thing,_ ' Kakashi thought, bemused. ' _We both accidentally flirted with each other and took each other on a date before checking in with our logical halves.'_

"At any rate, I seem to have mistakenly presumed that my Youthful Vigor and Attraction was reciprocated by you and taken this too far! My sincerest apologies! I hope you will not hold this against me, as I would Greatly Like to continue our outings as Gai and Sukea, even if it means I have to put my Feelings Aside!" 

Wait, what? Gai thought that Kakashi was playing along but not interested in him? Kakashi could fix that.

"Gai?" Gai looked up and his eyes were watery. "I have two questions for you. One: are you  _implying_  that you prefer me as Sukea rather than Kakashi?" Kakashi was mostly teasing, but he was also a bit of an emotional wreck after the rollercoaster he had been on, so it was maybe about 25%-40% a real question.

"Ah! Never! I never meant to imply that! Sukea just lets the parts of Kakashi through that I forgot I had missed! Sukea was the catalyst I needed to make me notice all the things I love about Kakashi, no matter his mask!"

That was probably as close to a True Love Confession as Kakashi was ever going to get, and honestly he wouldn't have it any other way. But Gai had (inadvertently, maybe) caused a lot of emotional turmoil in Kakashi's life the past week or so. While it is not like  _that_  was new, it was certainly unfair that it had been entirely one-sided. Emotional turmoil where Gai was concerned was practically par for the course, but  _only_  if it was overshadowed by the  _volume_  of emotion that Gai spouted. It was downright unfair that Kakashi had been through the wringer while Gai had remained oblivious. So Kakashi felt completely justified in teasing him a little bit.

Kakashi hemmed and tapped his foot, drawing out his silence to watch Gai sweat a little bit. Let him think he had offended Kakashi by some slip of the tongue. 

Akino decided he had had enough, though. He buffed to get Gai's attention and when Gai glanced down, he lipped his knee and made meaningful eye contact with Kakashi. The lick won a small, watery smile from Gai, and the glare snapped Kakashi back into himself. Akino was right; how could he possibly be so cruel to someone who was so kind to his dogs? (Damn his weak spot.) Kakashi cleared his throat.

"My second question, if you don't mind?" Kakashi asked. He played at being aloof, pulled a little bit of his Special Jonin Mask into the words.

"Of course," Gai said, and it sounded resigned. Like he assumed that Kakashi was wrapping this all up, shutting it down, and this question would be the final nail in the coffin of their 'over-before-it-started' relationship. 

"My second question," Kakashi grinned, he felt almost giddy, "is...: how do you feel about picking up where we left off?" Gai sputtered as Kakashi continued. "I don't know about you, but I have some hips that miss your hands, and I honestly wouldn't say _no_ if someone asked to mess with my hair -- but if you would rather be somewhere _else_  --"

Gai's laughter boomed and he reached out to tug Kakashi closer again, but this time Kakashi met him halfway.

**Author's Note:**

> Special shoutout to SweetHelgaHufflepuff (on Tumblr) who helped motivate me to write this dang thing. 
> 
> Also, as is now becoming my norm, this is unedited and probably a hot mess a little bit. If something snags your eye as VERY BAD OH NO, let me know! Maybe worth noting: I've tried an entirely new voice for me with this one, and it relies heavily on run-on sentences to portray the tumbling way overthinking works for Kakashi? (slash maybe anyone else with anxiety issues?! I see you, fam'!)


End file.
